It is possible to construct valves with operating times in the order of 10.sup.-3 seconds. Such valves are used, for example, as fuel injection valves for internal combustion engines, for example Diesel engines, in which the initiation and termination of fuel injection has to be accurately controlled with respect to the reciprocating movement of the piston of the engine. It has been found that the response times of fuel injection systems for internal combustion (IC) engines still are too long; also, the fuel quantity vs. time characteristics of the operation of the valve is not steep enough for optimum operation of the engine.